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Index
The Life Belt
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
John 3:14-15 NRSV
It wouldn't do to push the analogy too far, but there are a few observations which may be made about this photo:
Particularly chilling is the knowledge that the Life Belt will forever be withheld from those on the BlackList. They will be swept away by the riptide of their own evil, far beyond the reach of the Life Belt...
The Lord God had already seen some of the Heavenly Beings fall into sin. He realised that creating mankind in His own image and likeness would have a much higher risk of failure attached to it.
Important:
But how could He get around the penalty clause of the Primary Contract, with its requirement of Spiritual Death (ie, exclusion and banishment from His presence for the whole of Eternity).
Father and Son realised that were mankind to fall into sin, then it would be necessary to provide a scapegoat who would effect expiation. The Scapegoat's [Spiritual] Death would pay the redemption price for a sinner's salvation. Note how, in the Mosaic Covenant, the Lord God provided the ritual of the scapegoat designed to graphically convey this understanding to those awaiting the coming of their Messiah.
Father and Son were aware that payment of the redemption price would be a one-time event occurring at some suitable point in history. But there was still a major difficulty with their plans.
As Father and Son looked ahead to this one-time payment of the redemption price, they envisaged it buying back the whole of mankind, past, present, and future across the timeline. And herein lay the difficulty. How could Father and Son explain redemption to those very different groups of people? It would be a difficulty compounded by the differing levels in education down through the ages.
It would be easy to explain redemption to those coming after Jesus. Less easy for Jesus' contemporaries. And very much more difficult for those living long before Jesus' sacrifice.
As we look back along the timeline we can understand the difficulties! Today, the Lord God can have meaningful technical discussions with people due to the high level of general education. But how could He explain things to people at the dawn of time when the standard of education was at a much lower level? Today, for example, He can discuss contracts in general terms because the background knowledge and understanding are available; yet a detailed discussion with Adam and Eve on the subject of contracts would have been impossible, because the background knowledge and understanding simply weren't available in those times.
The only way around the problem, in days of yore, would be to issue commandments, but with reasons, however simple, attached to them. This would enable future generations to apply their education to look behind those historical commandments. God's underlying intentions would emerge, together with an academic understanding of what had actually taken place. Although Adam and Eve had no understanding of contracts, that didn't stop them participating in one! Today, with our level of education, we are able to look back and analyse, in broad terms, what took place.
To summarise, if mankind were to fall into sin and error, then there would be three main perspectives on Jesus' work of redemption:
Each group would have a different perspective on Jesus' work of redemption, yet each would require a sufficient working knowledge and understanding despite the differing levels of secular education. Different educational strategies would be required for the different perspectives. In other words, there would be amendments taking place across the timeline in response to the changing context.
Since the Primary Contract existed between God and mankind, the redemption price would have to be paid in shed human blood. The penalty clause required a Death; so the redemption price - also a 'Death' - had to have existential existence, which, in turn, would require a physical death.
Jesus was willing to pay the redemption price, but in order to do so He would need to be born as a human being and live in the world as a man. And He would have to live that life according to the terms and conditions of the Covenant if He were to reign as the King of Kings over David's kingdom. And, if He were to succeed, then He must live without once falling into sin and error. There would be no easy passage, for He would be subject to the same trials and temptations as everyone else; worse, probably, for Satan would seek to block Him at every turn, using every trick in the book in an effort to bring Jesus down to his own level.
Eventually, He must be arraigned on [false] charges of [religious] wrongdoing, judged, sentenced, and executed.
Jesus' shed blood would provide the physical death which was required, for the Scapegoat had to be an actual person: this was why the shed blood of animals could never make expiation. However, more was required, for the penalty clause of the Primary Contract requires Spiritual Death, separation from God. So Jesus must also descend to the world of the dead - separated and cut off from His Father - in order to provide the Spiritual Death required by the terms and conditions of the Primary Contract. Finally, He must appear before His Father, to be judged as all mankind must be judged. Only then will the Son be given authority to judge:
21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. 22 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.
...
26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man. (John 5:21-23,26-27 NIV)
There must necessarily be consistency across the timeline, otherwise the Rescue Contract will fail. There cannot, for instance, be any changes to definitions of right and wrong during the lifetime of the contract (the 'Constraint of transparency'). Sin, declared as such in the 'Old Testament', can not then be dismissed as not-sin, as is happening more and more within the new-covenant doctrine of today's church. Even worse, today's church ascribe their evil contradictions and inconsistency to the authority and guidance of the Lord Spirit.
To enter the home of the Most High - as did Adam and Eve when they were taken and placed in the Garden Annex - is to enter the presence of a person who demands perfection in every aspect of life. It was the same for the newly created Heavenly Beings as it is for the new-born babe on Earth.
New arrivals standing on the Threshold of God's place will be in complete ignorance of the Most High, His standards, and His code of conduct. Their ignorance and lack of self-control would result in them trampling all over His home.
How, then, could He condemn them were they to trample His home?
41 Jesus said, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.” (John 9:41 NIV)
They would remain, a permanent blot on the landscape. He realised that this would be a totally unacceptable state of affairs.
While He was prepared to accept short-term trampling of His home, He was not prepared to allow His home to be trampled forever.
In order to survive, it would be necessary to learn from the Lord God. In other words, a choice has to be made. False teachers abound, so care is required when making one's choice.
Initially we will probably get to know God in the academic sense. For many of us, this will be our position on reaching the Age of Discretion. But it is God's wish that our initial academic acquaintanceship eventually gives way to a personal face-to-face relationship with Him. He wants face to face dialogue - just as He had with Moses13C:
The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one man speaks to another. (Exodus 33:11a (Tanakh))
As for the actual transition from academic to personal relationship, this comes across clearly in the Book of Job, where Job exclaims,
In the past I knew only what others had told me, but now I have seen you with my own eyes (Job 42:5 GNT)
This personal contact with the Lord is important:
[‡
[19] Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. (Matthew 7:19 NIV)
or
[1] "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. [2] He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. (John 15:1-2 NIV)
]
[Essay: The Zelophehad Amendment.]
[Essay: It is the face to face encounter with the Lord which raises religion above the 'opiate of the masses'.]
Those who, on reaching the Age of Discretion have chosen to dwell with the Lord, will want to take full advantage of the Primary Contract. For it is the Primary Contract which allows the Lord God to guide the individual through life, and to keep them safe just so long as they remain obedient to Him. The Primary Contract takes a proactive approach to the avoidance of sin, as compared with the Rescue Contract which is entirely reactive in nature.
The importance of the Primary Contract cannot be overstated! Prevention, as the saying goes, is preferable to the cure!
However, those who fall into sin and error will need to take up God's offer of the Rescue Contract if they are to dwell with Him throughout Eternity.
The parties to the Rescue Contract:
† See: Representation of Jesus.
The Rescue Contract is offered to all sinners whose names are not on the Blacklist.
The Rescue Contract is not a stand-alone contract, but is a component of the Covenant. In other words, it is part of a package deal. In order to benefit from the Rescue Contract one must first commit to the complete package, namely the current version of the Covenant.
The offer is made to those living outside the Fold, to those guilty of defiant sin. Having committed to the Covenant, the Rescue Contract is available to those who fall into unintentional sin. As for those who backslide into defiant sin, they are then excluded from the Covenant and the Flock, where they then run the risk of being Blacklisted.
Four things worth remembering:
[† Note that this was in operation prior to the introduction of the Mosaic Covenant as part of the Post-Eden Covenant. But alas, the blind new-covenant church do not see any further than their own corrupt imaginations.]
In looking at the Lord's offer to sinners as contained in the Mosaic Contract, we are looking not only at the theory of salvation but also at the historical changes to worship in order to guide people away from sin and error (see: 'Job'). Although David's Tent now lies in ruins thanks to the annulment of the Covenant by Paul et al and to the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, we shouldn't remain blind as to the Lord's long-term intentions, for He will restore and rebuild David's fallen Tent:
In that day [when the Lord shakes the House of Israel],
I will set up again the fallen booth of David:
I will mend its breaches and set up its ruins anew.
I will build it firm as in the days of old,
12 So that they shall possess the rest of Edom
And all the nations once attached to My name -
declares the LORD who will bring this to pass. (Amos 9:11-12 (Tanakh))
The Lord Jesus, talking to the Jews, promised:
“I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death." (John 8:51 NIV)
Contrary to Paul's teaching (Galatians 2:15-16 NIV), we are required to obey all of Jesus' words, Jesus' teaching in its entirety. And the context of Jesus' teaching was the Covenant (Matthew 5:17-19; Matthew 15:24) - a Covenant which He amended and updated!
When Jesus said, 'anyone', 'anyone' was who He meant. Jesus was speaking primarily in the context of the Mosaic Contract. Nevertheless, His promise extended to those Gentiles who held fast to the Mosaic Contract, for His Father had said at the time of Isaiah8C,
Let not the foreigner say,
Who has attached himself to the LORD,
“The LORD will keep me apart from His people”;
And let not the eunuch say,
“I am a withered tree.”
4 For thus said the LORD:
“As for the eunuchs who keep My sabbaths,
Who have chosen what I desire
And hold fast to My covenant—
5 I will give them, in My House
And within My walls,
A monument and a name
Better than sons or daughters.
I will give them an everlasting name
Which shall not perish.
6 As for the foreigners
Who attach themselves to the LORD,
To minister to Him,
And to love the name of the LORD,
To be His servants—
All who keep the sabbath and do not profane it,
And who hold fast to My covenant—
7 I will bring them to My sacred mount
And let them rejoice in My house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and sacrifices
Shall be welcome on My altar;
For My House shall be called
A house of prayer for all peoples.” (Isaiah 56:3-7 (Tanakh))
The offer of redemption is extended to all sinners. And it remains on the table for all, save those who are Blacklisted.
[The offer is not restricted to the context of the Mosaic Contract. It applied equally to all who lived before the Mosaic Contract came into existence. We may not have many details of what God said to people before the Covenant was formalised; but that does not mean to say that God said nothing to them; there is, nevertheless, sufficient information in Scripture to provide us with a working insight into what had been happening.]
The preferred operation of the Rescue Contract is within the framework of the current Covenant; although David's Tent lies in ruins, we can still choose it at the Spiritual Level; and we know that the Most High will eventually restore David's fallen Tent to even greater perfection and effectiveness:
11 In that day [when the Lord shakes the House of Israel],
I will set up again the fallen booth of David:
I will mend its breaches and set up its ruins anew.
I will build it firm as in the days of old,
12 So that they shall possess the rest of Edom
And all the nations once attached to My name -
declares the LORD who will bring this to pass. (Amos 9:11-12 (Tanakh))
The arrival of the Mosaic Contract brought order and structure to worship. It brought, too, explanation as well as the need to conform to God's demands; henceforth, we were no longer to worship as we liked, but were to be obedient to God's demands - demands intended to keep us from going astray.
Admittedly, the form of worship has been amended following Jesus' sacrifice. Nevertheless, worship - at any point on the timeline - is to conform to the Lord's demands at that time.
There needs to be:
The Covenant shows us God's specific demands when seeking His forgiveness for unintentional sin:
These exist at the Spiritual Level. Although Job preceded the Mosaic Covenant, he nevertheless applied these principles held at the Spiritual Level even at that time.
Consideration will provide an insight into the Rescue Contract.
Having experienced the fall of some of the Heavenly Beings, if the Lord went ahead with the creation of mankind, then He needed to be prepared for rejection by some of them.
The Heavenly Beings, since they were immortal, could not benefit from a rescue contract.
However, if He and His Son were to create mankind in their image and likeness, then He wished to be able to throw them a lifeline were they to fall into sin and error. And that desire led the Lord to create mankind as mortal beings. As the Lord was later to say:
[32] For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live! (Ezekiel 18:32 NIV)
And so the Lord was so highly motivated that He asked His Son to be the Scapegoat for the redemption of mankind were they to fall into sin. Jesus was chosen by His Father to be the Scapegoat:
[20] He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. (1 Peter 1:20 NIV)
[18] "Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations." (Matthew 12:18 NIV)
Jesus was obedient to His Father's wishes:
[42] He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done." (Matthew 26:42 NIV)
[42] He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done." (Matthew 26:42 NIV)
Rescue Contract - Consideration
Each party must receive value from each of the other parties.
[† [1] Then I saw in the right hand of the one seated on the throne a scroll written on the inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals; [2] and I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?" [3] And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it. [5] Then one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep. See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals."
[6] Then I saw between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders a Lamb standing as if it had been slaughtered, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. [7] He went and took the scroll from the right hand of the one who was seated on the throne. [8] When he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell before the Lamb, each holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. [9] They sing a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slaughtered and by your blood you ransomed for God saints from every tribe and language and people and nation; [10] you have made them to be a kingdom and priests serving our God, and they will reign on earth." (Revelation 5:1-3,5-10 NRSV)]
The cost to each party in giving benefit to each of the other parties.
Excluded from the contract are:
Children under the Age of Discretion are excluded from contracts since:
Children will become accountable for their actions on reaching the Age of Discretion. The Age of Discretion will be determined by the Lord for each individual, and will almost certainly differ greatly from current civil laws as well as Jewish values regarding vows.
But, of course, children are dependent for their education on family and church. And if family and church fail to educate children up to the Age of Discretion (and beyond!), then they will be guilty of negligence, and the lives of the children will be endangered.
As for those who are Blacklisted, they will find forgiveness neither in this life nor the next.
Being 'out of contract' may arise from:
Those who sin defiantly are excluded from God's pressence, people, and Covenant:
30 But the person, be he citizen or stranger, who acts defiantly reviles the LORD; that person shall be cut off from among his people. 31 Because he has spurned the word of the LORD and violated His commandment, that person shall be cut off—he bears his guilt. (Numbers 15:30-31 (Tanakh))
The Rescue Contract must remain consistent across the timeline. Any inconsistency will result in a mistrial on the Day of Judgement.
The definition of sin, for instance, must remain consistent across the timeline. Something once defined as sin cannot later be declared by the new-covenant church as being 'not-sin'! Such a contradiction would make a mockery of the Law and Justice, not to mention Jesus' sacrifice.
Paul et al have taught that the 'old covenant' was lethal, founded on inadequate promises, faulty, and obsolescent:
These fraudsters have stated that the Mosaic Covenant could save no one. Consequently, they invoked the concept of 'original sin' - a concept proscribed by the Lord God long ago at the time of Ezekiel6C†.
[† 1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 What do you mean by quoting this proverb upon the soil of Israel, “Parents eat sour grapes and their children's teeth are blunted”? 3 As I live—declares the Lord GOD—this proverb shall no longer be current among you in Israel. 4 Consider, all lives are Mine; the life of the parent and the life of the child are both Mine. The person who sins, only he shall die. (Ezekiel 18:1-4 (Tanakh))]
Needless to say, the Law must remain consistent. There is not one law for those who lived before Bethlehem, and another for those who lived following Jesus' sacrifice - as Paul would have us believe. Consequently, the evil doctrine of Paul et al has been Blacklisted.
Since Jesus would appear at a time in history of the Father's choosing, the view of Jesus must remain consistent across the timeline. It is important that everyone look not to ritual but to Jesus for their salvation. Paul et al, in their absolute blindness, saw only ritual; they did not see beyond the ritual to the Spiritual Level: and on the basis of that evil they annulled a Covenant which was and is the epitome of perfection. Their wrongdoing didn't end there, for they went on to attribute their false doctrine to the authority and guidance of the Lord Spirit - a sure-fire way to get on the Blacklist!
The Scriptures show us the transparency of the Covenant.
The Court of No Appeal is characterised by its openness: proceedings will not take place in closed court. The proceedings will take place under the scrutiny of everyone present. For example:
The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here. 42 The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here. (Matthew 12:41-42 NIV)
The men of Nineveh and the Queen of the South will condemn the House of Desolation standing in the dock in front of Jesus.
Justice will be administered in open court, and will be observable by all. So what are the implications for Covenant Law?
In order to avoid any miscarriage of justice, the Law must remain entirely consistent at the Spiritual Level. Right and wrong must remain consistent across the timeline. The Old Testament punishments - such as execution - are no longer applicable at the Physical Level because, following the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple, the Mosaic Contract is no longer enforceable at the Physical Level. Nevertheless, the wrongdoing will remain at the Spiritual Level, and will incur guilt at the Spiritual Level.
The consistency of right and wrong across the timeline is being eroded by today's new-covenant church. God's Old Testament declarations of wrongdoing are being reversed by the church on the grounds of God's infinite love, His love of 'diversity', His refusal to turn any one away, and His understanding of the many routes to HImself. Already this 'inclusivity' has seriously undermined that basic unit of society, the family; and one is left wondering where it will end...
If, on the Day of Judgement, someone condemned under Old Testament Covenant Law sees a new-covenant person deemed not-guilty for the same offence, the cry of, 'Foul!' will reverberate loudly throughout the court! And quite rightly, too, since something cannot be 'sin' and, at the same time and in the same court of law, 'not sin'. That would make a mockery of the whole justice system.
Compare new-covenant folly with the righteousness of the Covenant. Under the Covenant, although physical punishment may not now be imposed, wrongdoing remains as wrongdoing, and will incur guilt at the Spiritual Level. That guilt may well lead to the removal of a person's name from the Book of Life. The original punishment of execution, although no longer applicable,
As for those who claim that a particular sin is not a sin, citing the authority and guidance of the Lord Spirit, their future is bleak indeed, with every likelihood that they will be enrolled in the Blacklist.
So, is forgiveness consistent across the timeline? The question is both fair and necessary in view of Paul's doctrine of inconsistency (eg, Romans chapter 11) - a doctrine being used by the new-covenant-church to promote and teach their ever-worsening excursions into sin and depravity and accommodations with evil.
Since only those sinners whose names are in the Book of Life will enter the New Jerusalem, and because the Book of Life dates back to the time of the fall†, we conclude that the definitions of sin, and the process of forgiveness and expiation, remain consistent across the timeline: from the time when Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden ... right up until the End of the Age.
[† Written from the creation of the world in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain (Revelation 13:8 NIV alternative translation)]
Justification for using the alternative translation may be found here:
Nothing impure will ever enter it [the New Jerusalem], nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life (Revelation 21:27 NIV)
Revelation 21:27 NIV confirms that the Book of Life dates right back to the fall. Otherwise no one at that time would have been able to be saved.
[Conditional proof: What would inconsistency in the definitions of sin, as per Paul et al, commit the Lord God to? What would be the implications for the Court of No Appeal on the Day of Judgement? What would be the implications for people subject to such inconsistency? What would be the implications regarding guidance? Confirm that it would be impossible for people to evaluate the Two Abstract Rules, thereby making Jesus a liar‡.]
[‡ [34] Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. [35] One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: [36] "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" [37] Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' [38] This is the first and greatest commandment. [39] And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' [40] All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:34-40 NIV)]
[Dissertation: Sin and Redemption.]
Jesus' sacrifice brought significant changes to the Mosaic Contract. For example, the practice of animal sacrifice was no longer appropriate since people were no longer looking foreward to Jesus' sacrifice, [and the removal of the country's guilt in a single day (Zechariah 3:8-9 Tanakh]); and so, with people looking back on Jesus' sacrifice, animal sacrifice was replaced with the Bread and Wine (Luke 22:14-23).
At Jacob's Well, Jesus explained that worship was, henceforth, to be entirely at the Spiritual Level (John 4:1-26).
And then, with the [apparent] destruction of the Covenant by Paul (2 Corinthians 3:6-7a NIV) and the unknown writer to the Hebrews (Hebrews 8:7 ESV), and the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple by the Romans in 70 CE, the Covenant was rendered unenforceable at the Physical Level.
Jesus' life and sacrifice were to have a huge impact on the Covenant. Jesus' last words as recorded in Matthew's Gospel,
[18] Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. [19] Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20 NIV),
heralded the implementation of the Messianic Amendment.
Of course, the details of the Messianic Amendment have yet to be worked through. But doubtless the Lord will appoint shepherds after His own heart from the Melchizedek Priesthood, who will assist with the rebuilding of David's fallen Tent under the guidance of the Lord.
In the meantime, there is sufficient knowledge to allow people and groups to commit to the amended Covenant at the Spiritual Level. And perhaps lend a hand in helping to rebuild David's fallen Tent...
[The time] has come to gather all the nations and tongues; they shall come and behold My glory. 19 I will set a sign among them, and send from them survivors to the nations: to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud—that draw the bow—to Tubal, Javan, and the distant coasts, that have never heard My fame nor beheld My glory. They shall declare My glory among these nations. 20 And out of all the nations, said the LORD, they shall bring all your brothers on horses, in chariots and drays, on mules and dromedaries, to Jerusalem My holy mountain as an offering to the LORD—just as the Israelites bring an offering in a pure vessel to the House of the LORD. 21 And from them likewise I will take some to be levitical priests, said the LORD. (Isaiah 66:18b-21 (Tanakh))
The destruction of the Temple in 70 CE effectively rendered the Covenant unenforceable at the Physical Level. Thus, the only way the Covenant could be adhered to was at the Spiritual Level - as Jesus had affirmed some years earlier.
Collaterally, the death penalty ceased to be enforceable. The death penalty could no longer be applied at the Physical Level by the church leaders.
Note that the new-covenant church have carried out punishments for which they had no right.
Now that the death penalty is no longer enforceable at the Physical Level, it might be thought that there has been a relaxation of the Law. Not so! Those sins which were punishable by physical death will now be punished directly at the Spiritual Level. These are defiant sins, some of which are perhaps edging towards unforgivable sin. So, there may be doubt as to one's status and the outcome on the Day of Judgement...
Version: 2024-11-21